JUST IN: Officials Dispel Immigration Enforcement Rumors

JACKSON HOLE, WY — Rumors have been proliferating around the valley this weekend that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are knocking on doors in search of undocumented immigrants. According to Teton County Sheriff’s Office and Jackson Police Department, these rumors are indeed false.

“To our knowledge there is no enforcement action occurring in Teton County today,” reads a statement issued Saturday by TCSO. “The Teton County Sheriff’s Office believes at this time, it is a rumor.”

Sgt. Michelle Weber of the Jackson Police Department further allayed community fears stemming from this rumor. “I’ve spoken to [officials from] both ICE and Homeland Security and they both said there is no enforcement action taking place in Jackson,” she told PJH.

In Jackson, Mayor Pete Muldoon has spoken out in favor of supporting and protecting the valley’s immigrant populace, which happens to comprise a significant amount of the local workforce. “We should all take a moment and think about what it must feel like to wake up every day in fear of losing your family and your community,” he said. “Policies that put hard-working, valued members of our community through this trauma are pointless, shameful and downright un-American.”

Talk of immigration raids in Jackson arrive on the heels of news that ICE has performed raids in at least six states over the last week. The Washington Post reported: US immigration authorities arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants … in a series of raids that marked the first large-scale enforcement of President Trump’s Jan. 25 order to crack down on the estimated 11 million immigrants living here illegally.

Immigration officials confirmed that agents have raided homes and workplaces in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, the Los Angeles area, North Carolina and South Carolina.

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About Robyn Vincent

Robyn is the editor of Jackson Hole Snowboarder Magazine and former editor of Planet Jackson Hole. When she's not sweating deadlines, she likes to travel the world with her notebook and camera in hand. Follow her on Twitter @TheNomadicHeart